What made you change?

**GiftBlogger** · 05-02-2008, 03:29 PM

When I go to the grocery, I don't buy ice cream or cookies because I don't want them in my house. If I have them in my house, I will eat them and get fat. I have no self control if this stuff is in my house.

The same applies with money. I have everything taken out (401K contributions, flexible spending account deductions, etc) of my pay before I see the check. Plus I do direct deposit so cash is never in-hand. I also regularly transfer any extra money into a savings account and keep my checking balance low so I don't see or feel like I have the money. Keep your savings out of site (of yourself).

**skydivingchic** · 05-02-2008, 03:57 PM

I was never in a really bad spot but since I graduated college, I had a nasty habit of running up a few thousand dollars worth of CC debt. After a while I'd raid what should have been my emergency fund to pay it off. I'd do good for six months or so paying the CC off in full each month, then end up with another couple thousand worth of debt in another year or so.

At some point a little over a year ago, I just got sick of it. I was making a good salary and had been out of college for over six years, yet I didn't have a solid emergency fund, hadn't started saving for a new (to me) car, and just knew better in general. My parents did a good job teaching me solid money management, yet here I was with CC debt.

So I changed a few things. First, and probably most importantly for me, I found Mvelopes. Once I got it set up, my finances really started to come together as it was exactly what I needed and mirrors how I tend to think about money. Now I don't look at the checking account balance - it floats somewhere around $7000 at any given time. I look at my envelope balances so I can see exactly how much I have to spend in any given category. I can easily see that part of that balance is allocated to gifts, car maintenance, cat care/vet bills, medical copays and prescriptions for me, groceries, etc, etc. If I go blow $500 on new clothes, I'm going to have to give that up somewhere else. Before Mvelopes, I hadn't come up with a good way of making these "pots" of money without having a whole bunch of different physical accounts.

Also, I do what GiftBlogger suggested. Every bit of savings that I can automate has been automated. My paycheck is split into three pieces by direct deposit - some the my emergecy fund savings, some to my personal savings (new car, travel, home remodel, etc), and the rest to my checking account. 401(k) is also taken out before it ever hits the bank. My Roth is automatically taken out of my checking account each month.

Do you have goals with the money you are saving? It helps me tremendously to have goals. If I have goal I can get behind, it is much easier for me to keep my hands off the money. I know that money is already set aside for something - whether that something is my emergency fund, travel, new car, etc. Using my savings for something other than what it is earmarked for means that I have to give up or delay whatever I had orginally planned.

**maat55** · 05-03-2008, 05:11 AM

Many years ago, I was turned down by my bank to consolidate some debt I had. I have never filed BR and have always paid my debts, getting turned down really pissed me off. About that time, I started listening to Dave Ramsey on the radio.

If your having trouble with debt, I suggest you read his books and others on the benefits of being debtfree. Part of my plan for prosperity, was watching my motorcycle hauled off yesterday. (After I sold it)

Getting turned down by the bank and listening to Dave Ramsey were my light switch moment, but sticking to the plan is a heartfelt desire. You have to want it more than the stuff. Good luck.

**Fizgig** · 05-03-2008, 09:53 AM

I never really got into financial trouble, but I was basically just treading water during my first three years after graduating college. Not falling behind, but not getting ahead either.

In 2004 I made a complete cart-before-the-horse move, and bought a house with very little money down. The 80-15 loans are fixed with good rates, so that wasn't a mistake, but the responsibility did wake me up and make me want to be more careful and deliberate with money.

Like GiftBlogger I automated my accounts so that savings are distributed with every paycheck, and my checking account balance stays pretty low. I've accumulated a very nice EF without even thinking about it.

So, yeah, the responsibility of the house is what woke me up.

**Ima saver** · 05-03-2008, 09:56 AM

I bought my first house when I was 21, so there was never much money left over. I always paid myself first, at least 10% each payday. I have used the envelope system for over 40 years and I NEVER borrow from the envelopes.

**Aleta** · 05-03-2008, 10:22 AM

One night I was flipping channels and this financial teaching program came on. The man said that borrowers are slaves to the lenders. I never thought about debt like that before. We weren't heavily into debt but we needed to turn our thinking around because we were spending money right and left with no real budget and not saving enough on top of that. That night a light bulb came on and I have neve turned back since.

When I say that we weren't heavily into debt; we were including our mortgage payment.

**ohsnap** · 05-04-2008, 02:48 PM

It was about 5 years ago that my ex and I split up. We've been together for about 8 years and she took care of all finances. Well, when it came time to split our accounts up, I was quite surprised that we had 30k in CC debt and almost no savings. I took 20K of it and left her with 10K since I made about 2x as much as she did. A year later she filed for BR. It hit me hard. I felt out of control. I dug myself out reading books, boards like this one and finding the snowball excel spreadsheet. And now have more 100K in 401K and 40K in savings, zero CC debt and and feel in control of where all my money is going. I've met a new lovely gal and we're getting married this fall. We are splitting cost and Ive already set money aside to pay for it.

That's my story.

**StanFatherof3** · 05-05-2008, 09:01 PM

The big switch for me was getting old enough to see the mistakes my parents had made. Gradually, I took over the role of making all of my mom's financial decisions and that really woke me up. She's always getting waylaid by the smallest financial surprises and I realized that I didn't want the same thing for my family.

I also have to chime in with the folks who mentioned that the easiest way to keep from spending my money is to put it away. I have as much as I comfortably can sent to separate savings accounts so that I won't have too much extra cash in my checking account.

**fruitbowlk** · 05-06-2008, 06:08 AM

I woke up when I had my first child. I want the very best for her and I can't give it to her if I'm spending and charging like I have no mind. I starting reading suze ormen books and following her plan and I have been on the straight and narrow road every since. I'm also following Dave Ramsey 7 Baby Steps.

**readytorock** · 06-11-2008, 07:01 PM

Over the last few months things have been tight. I'd always worry that my debit card wouldn't be approved when I went for simple things like groceries or gas. And that really upset and embarrassed me.

I decided I didn't want to feel that way anymore. The first thing I did was create a budget for the first time, and noticed things shouldn't be tight, if I stuck to the budget. I have, and switched up my employment situation and things have really been rolling along the right path.

I'm still in debt and could be doing much better. But I'm no longer worried about my debit card being rejected, heck, I'm not even worried about the car breaking down or anything because I now have an EF to cover it. (knock on wood)

Spending $90 on Quicken was the best financial decision I ever made, lol. Just keep tracking has kept me from wasting hundreds.

**jamiefic** · 06-11-2008, 07:46 PM

For me, it is thinking about what could be...to not have any debt (including home mortgage) and be totally free! That just sounds too good to not sacrifice for!

**JanH** · 06-11-2008, 08:07 PM

I got tired of the stress of carrying the debt load. I can't wait for it to be gone, but it will be awhile. I want the freedom!

**AmbitiousSaver** · 06-12-2008, 07:41 AM

I'm still working on it... I think our biggest downfall was cars. If we had both cars fully paid off, we'd be living very comfortably. We are starting to change though cause we realize we are heading into our 30s and mistakes we make now we have time to recover from... but not so much as we get older and we need to wisen up.

We aren't perfect, but we're trying and we have our slip ups... but I notice they are becoming more far apart. We're no longer trading in our cars every year... I think the economy is helping us to crack down too. DH wants a truck and a motorcycle and we could do the motorcycle after we save for it... but the gas prices keep us from doing the truck. I also got DH involved so its nice to feel like we are a team cause now when I slip up, he catches me, and vice versa... we never had that before.

Hang in there, I think a lot of us its like dieting... you're trying to adjust to a new way of life and like in my case, when I've lived 26 years doing something different, its an adjustment and will not be overnight.... but if I keep trying I know I'll eventually get there.

**Caoineag** · 06-12-2008, 10:36 AM

I actually did pretty good in high school and most of college. I graduated college with zero credit card debt and 20k in loans. Moved cross country to a state that has jobs. We racked up a lot of debt in the move and surviving the first 6 months which was justifiable. The debt from the next 6 months of going nuts was not.

Basically, I reached a point a little over a year after the move where I realized we had steady and sufficient income to tackle our debts and looked at our expenses. Was shocked after taking stock of all that we accumulated and started a plan for paying it back.

We struggled at first because we had quickly gotten used to the new lifestyle but the main things were building a budget, giving myself an allowance, making all savings automatic and making sure my husband and I were on the same page.

What made you change?